A Jerusalem report

Sandra Olewine, Methodist Liaison in Jerusalem, reflects on increased violence and the need for a wider view

[Note dated 10-8-01, posted here on 13-8-01]

Dear Friends,

On the morning after a horrific afternoon in Jerusalem, words seem a bit superfluous. Today many Israelis will say goodbye to family and friends, infants, children and parents, as the dead are buried. Prayers for comfort seem a small offering to such tragedy.

Yet, I wish I could say this attack surprised me. In fact, just yesterday morning, both in email messages to friends and in conversations over coffee, when someone asked me what I thought would happen, I said, "I'm afraid that soon we'll have a major suicide bomb attack and then the Israelis will retaliate and who knows where it will end." I wish my words hadn't been so quickly fulfilled.

In fact, I was walking back to the CRS office when I felt a 'thump' - it is difficult to describe, almost as if the air compressed around me. But, my immediate thought was that there had been an explosion. Not long after I reached the office, the sirens began.

Listening to them and continuously checking the internet, radio and TV for details in the office, our stomachs turned as the number of dead continued to rise. At first, the news was ambiguous about the cause. I admit I prayed, "Dear God, please let it be a gas explosion." Not that this would have made the destruction of human life any less painful, but would at least not have been part of the on-going cycles of bloodletting which we are caught up in here.

Unfortunately, the news came soon enough - a young Palestinian man, 23-years old, blew himself up, along with at least 18 other Israelis, many of them children and youth. Although initially Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, Hamas has claimed the man was theirs. The concern, of course, is that if both groups had young men ready to act, one may still be poised to carry out another attack.

The Israeli government quickly announced the convening of its 'kitchen cabinet' to determine their response. Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza who worked in any police or security buildings immediately began to evacuate them in anticipation of an Israeli military strike. Evidently, even the electricity was turned off in parts of Gaza to lessen the chances of fire from explosions.

We began our own calls to partners and friends around the West Bank to monitor the situation. Not long after, our UM intern called from Wi'am in Bethlehem to tell us there had just been about 15 minutes of machine gunfire from the Israeli military outpost on Jabel Abu Ghneim on the outskirts of Beit Sahour. He explained that they had heard no Palestinian shooting in the area prior to it. "It was if someone just put his finger on the trigger and held it down." he explained. Maybe some soldier just took his frustration over the bombing out by shooting off his weapon? The area remained quiet, though, the rest of the night.

Gaza and Ramallah were not quiet however. Gaza, it seems, came under attack from gun ships in the Mediterranean and the F-16 fighter jets were once again released, dropping 2 bombs on the police station in Ramallah, completely destroying it. Because of the evacuations, there were no casualties. This morning brought word that the Israelis had taken over various PNA offices in the Jerusalem area. Most significantly, they stormed Orient House, the center of Palestinian affairs in occupied Jerusalem. As I watched the television news reports showing Israeli soldiers hoisting an Israeli flag over this building, my heart dropped. Could there be a more provocative act by the Israelis than this one? Orient House is the symbol of Palestinians aspirations for Jerusalem as their capital. Seizing this building, sealing it and raising an Israeli flag over it is tantamount to declaring that Israel has again conquered or occupied Jerusalem. All I could think about was the late Faisal Husseini, the leader of Orient House until his death almost 2-months ago of a heart attack. I shed new tears over the great loss of this man is to the Palestinian - and Israeli - people. My heart grew heavy with thoughts of what kind of reprisals this will bring from Palestinians and how the cycles of violence just keep spiraling away with us.

The events of the last 11 months have created a pressure cooker in the Palestinian territories. The ongoing siege around most Palestinian villages, towns and cities, the demolition of homes, the destruction of agricultural fields, the weeks-on-end of complete curfew in some areas, the policy of assassination, the lack of work for the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people, the number of children killed and the number of people permanently disabled, has created a sense of desperation for many people.

In such a context, questions about whether another bomb will go off are replaced with the question of when it will go off. The question of whether the Israelis will respond is replaced with when and where will they respond. In such attacks-counter attacks, it can be difficult to remember who is retaliating for what. Questions of who is responsible and who struck first in each individual act became almost ludicrous as innocent Palestinian and Israeli families continue to bury their families.

In such days, we must return to the root cause of the violence in order to break the cycle. Addressing only the symptoms ensures our continuing horror at senseless death in this region. The root cause of the violence of the last 11 months is the on-going Israeli occupation and control of the West Bank and Gaza. After 32 years, it most come to a stop. [Emphasis by your WebWeaver.]

Prime Minister Sharon keeps demanding a complete cessation of violence on the Palestinian side before returning to the negotiating table. Surely, if this is the requirement, Palestinians have no less right to demand the same thing from the Israelis. To demand of Arafat that he arrest members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad while the Israeli siege on Palestinian towns, the destruction of land, the restrictions on travel and the Israeli policy of assassination continues seems an almost absurd request. For the Israeli government to continue to act as if the security of their people is the overriding criterion, without recognizing the devastation which the Palestinian people are experiencing, is to ensure there will be no security for either people. Both peoples will continue to reap only what is sown, the fruits of violence, hatred and greed.

There has been far too much death, too many young lives lost. It is time for courageous leadership that looks at the larger picture, which has concern for the well being of all the children of this land - for all of them, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim - belong to God. God bless the people on both sides who are still able to mourn the loss of life on the other side. For it is these people from which hope springs that we are not destined only to die with each other, but still have an opportunity to create a land which reflects the glory of God and the wholeness of creation.

Longing for the day when our mourning shall turn into joy, I remain,

Sandra

Rev. Sandra Olewine
United Methodist Liaison - Jerusalem

Thanks to Darrell and Sue Yeaney, who have shared this letter.